Dataset Information

The Association Between Gender Inequality and Sexual Violence in the U.S.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

Few societal-level factors are established as risk or protective factors for sexual violence. Traditional gender norms and gender inequality are linked to sexual violence, but much of this research was conducted internationally or is becoming outdated and may not reflect current norms in the U.S. This study expands on previously published research by examining gender inequality's association with state-level sexual violence.

Methods

Using state-level prevalence estimates published in the National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey 2010-2012 State Report and the Gender Inequality Index, Pearson correlations were examined to investigate the relationship between state-level gender inequality and lifetime victimization for various types of sexual violence among U.S. female and male adults. The analysis was conducted in 2019.

Results

Findings indicate that states with a high degree of gender inequality also report higher prevalence estimates among women for rape using physical force. Gender inequality was also negatively correlated with noncontact unwanted sexual experiences among women and men. In addition, an exploratory analysis of the relationship between individual indicators of gender inequality and violence outcomes suggest that the adolescent birth rate, female government representation, and labor force participation demonstrate an association with certain state-level violence outcomes, although the patterns were inconsistent.

Conclusions

Although this study relied on cross-sectional data, collectively, these findings suggest that gender inequality may represent an important societal-level factor associated with sexual violence among women and men. However, this relationship appears complex and requires further research. These findings have potential to inform population-level violence prevention approaches.

SUBMITTER: Kearns MC

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7810166 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

The Association Between Gender Inequality and Sexual Violence in the U.S.

Kearns Megan C MC D'Inverno Ashley Schappell AS Reidy Dennis E DE

American journal of preventive medicine 20191121 1

<h4>Introduction</h4>Few societal-level factors are established as risk or protective factors for sexual violence. Traditional gender norms and gender inequality are linked to sexual violence, but much of this research was conducted internationally or is becoming outdated and may not reflect current norms in the U.S. This study expands on previously published research by examining gender inequality's association with state-level sexual violence.<h4>Methods</h4>Using state-level prevalence estima ...[more]

PMID: 31761512

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Project description:BackgroundUnintended pregnancy has dire consequences on the health and socioeconomic wellbeing of adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) (aged 15-24 years). While most studies tend to focus on lack of access to contraceptive information and services, and poverty as the main contributing factor to early-unintended pregnancies, the influence of sexual violence has received limited attention. Understanding the link between sexual violence and unintended pregnancy is critical towards developing a multifaceted intervention to reduce unintended pregnancies among AGYW in South Africa, a country with high teenage pregnancy rate. Thus, we estimated the magnitude of unintended pregnancy among AGYW and also examined the effect of sexual violence on unintended pregnancy.MethodsOur study adopted a cross-sectional design, and data were obtained from AGYW in a South African university between June and November 2018. A final sample of 451 girls aged 17-24 years, selected using stratified sampling, were included in the analysis. We used adjusted and unadjusted logistic regression analysis to examine the effect of sexual violence on unintended pregnancy.ResultsThe analysis shows that 41.9% of all respondents had experienced an unintended pregnancy, and 26.3% of those unintended pregnancies ended in abortions. Unintended pregnancy was higher among survivors of sexual violence (54.4%) compared to those who never experienced sexual abuse (34.3%). In the multivariable analysis, sexual violence was consistently and robustly associated with increased odds of having an unintended pregnancy (AOR:1.70; 95% CI: 1.08-2.68).ConclusionOur study found a huge magnitude of unintended pregnancy among AGYW. Sexual violence is an important predictor of unintended pregnancy in this age cohort. Thus, addressing unintended pregnancies among AGYW in South Africa requires interventions that not only increase access to contraceptive information and services but also reduce sexual violence and cater for survivors.

Dataset Information

The Association Between Gender Inequality and Sexual Violence in the U.S.

Introduction

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Publications

The Association Between Gender Inequality and Sexual Violence in the U.S.

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